When God Stops Fighting - by Mark Juergensmeyer (Paperback)

About the Book

"A gripping study of how religiously motivated violence and militant movements end, from the perspectives of those most deeply involved. How does religious violence end? When God Stops Fighting probes for answers through case studies and personal interviews with militants associated with the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq, the Sikh Khalistan movement in India's Punjab, and the Moro movement for a Muslim Mindanao in the Philippines. Mark Juergensmeyer is arguably the globe's leading expert on religious violence, and for decades his books have helped us understand the worlds and worldviews of those who take up arms in the name of their faith. But even the most violent of movements, consumed by grand religious visions of holy warfare, eventually come to an end. In order to understand what led to these drastic changes in the attitudes of men and women once devoted to all-out ideological war, Juergensmeyer takes readers on an intimate journey into the minds of religiously motivated militants. Readers will travel with Juergensmeyer to the affected regions, examine compelling stories of devotion and reflection, and meet with people related to the movements and impacted by them to understand how their worldviews can, and do, change. Building on the author's lifetime of fieldwork interviewing religious combatants around the world, When God Stops Fighting reveals how the transformation of religious violence appears to those who once promoted it as the only answer"--

Book Synopsis

A gripping study of how religiously motivated violence and militant movements end, from the perspectives of those most deeply involved.

Mark Juergensmeyer is arguably the globe's leading expert on religious violence, and for decades his books have helped us understand the worlds and worldviews of those who take up arms in the name of their faith. But even the most violent of movements, characterized by grand religious visions of holy warfare, eventually come to an end. Juergensmeyer takes readers into the minds of religiously motivated militants associated with the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq, the Sikh Khalistan movement in India's Punjab, and the Moro movement for a Muslim Mindanao in the Philippines to understand what leads to drastic changes in the attitudes of those once devoted to all-out ideological war. When God Stops Fighting reveals how the transformation of religious violence manifests for those who once promoted it as the only answer.

From the Back Cover

"Mark Juergensmeyer has written yet another brilliant book on religious violence, addressing the fundamental question of how 'imagined wars' come to an end. His profound and enlightening insights are drawn from deep knowledge of the combatants in conflicts in Iraq, the Philippines, and India."--Martha Crenshaw, Senior Fellow Emerita at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University, and Professor Emerita of Government, Wesleyan University

"Juergensmeyer has an extraordinary knack for asking great questions at the right time. In this small tome he asks the important questions about how and why religious wars end. Informed by participants who had dedicated themselves to absolutist religious warfare, he discovers and reports that the imaginary of war in their minds has changed. Although core ideas remain, his interlocutors reveal that warfighting might not be the best method, such that they've come to accept that the war must end even if the struggle for righteousness does not."--Monica Duffy Toft, Professor of International Politics, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

Review Quotes

"A valuable read for all those interested in militant violence."-- "Religion"

"Anyone, be they theologians, religious studies majors, sociologists, psychologists, historians, politicians, lawyers, those entrusted with the arts of conflict resolution, or just a member of the public, should read this book. In doing so, they will come to understand more about the many subtle (and not so subtle) processes by which men (usually) can steer situations either towards tragic disasters or in the direction of those more promising situations When God Stops Fighting."-- "Reading Religion"

"When God Stops Fighting is an excellent introductory work. . . .[its] brevity, its smooth readability and its lively descriptions make it both a thought-provoking and an enjoyable read."-- "Medicine, Conflict, and Survival"

About the Author

Mark Juergensmeyer is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Global Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara and William F. Podlich Distinguished Fellow at Claremont McKenna College. He is author or editor of thirty books, including the award-winning Terror in the Mind of God and the recent God at War.